Dec 31, 2013

I don't know why I feel joy seeing this news item, but I am sure there are many more like me..

Some baggage handler at Ben Gurion airport was caught on video stealing from the luggage he was handling, and has been arrested. He used stolen credit cards to buy stuff in duty free, and to fill his car with gas. During interrogation he admitted what he had done.
(source: Ynetnews)

I am sure anybody who has traveled only to find stuff missing from his suitcase will also feel happy about this discovery, even though he knows he won't get his stuff back. There is just too big of a dark hole form the time a person parts with his luggage until the time he gets it back, and there has been no way to know what is happening to one's stuff when n that black hole.

The Committee for Shivyon B'Netel today decided to approve the suggestion that Chabadniks who serve around the world as shlichim will be considered as if they are doing civil service.

There is already a format by which Israelis performing service around the world on behalf of the State of Israel are considered as if they are doing civil service, and now Chabad is being added to the list as an approved form of service. The criteria for this will be determined by the committee, and any yeshiva student meeting that criteria in his shlichus will receive the new status.

MK Elazar Stern said that the Chabad shlichim do a very important job around the world, voluntarily, and until now have not received recognition from the State of Israel for those efforts. The shliach out there doing his work should know that he is now a representative of the State of Israel. Stern also said that another achievement of this is that they will now have forged a connection between Chabad and the State of Israel, and the shlichus of the Rebbe will also now be seen by them as shlichus for Israel.

Stern had reservations because, even though Chabad has a large and strong presence in Israel and is very connected to Israel, the Rebbe sent boys out on shlichus around the world, but did not encourage going to Israel. Stern sees this as a way of strengthening that aspect of the connection between Chabad and Israel.

We all know the stories of how the Chabad shliach, doing great work in far-flung places around the world, is very often the actual representative of Israel, acting as a de facto embassy, helping people in trouble, and taking care of people in need. This solidifies that representation.

Will all the yeshiva bochurim suddenly run to become Chabadniks? not likely. You dont qualify as a civil servant just by being Chabad, but by being a Chabad shliach meeting set criteria... not everyone wants to live in far-away countries or cities, often with very few Jews, let alone other religious Jews... and the work itself is not easy either. These boys do phenomenal work around the world, and they deserve this new status.

I went yesterday to the Tekhelet conference in Jerusalem, celebrating 100 years of tekhelet research. The occasion was marking the 100th anniversary of Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Halevi Herzog's doctoral dissertation on the topic of the tekhelet.

I thought that at least a good part of the conference would be dedicated to revealing new studies, new proofs, discussing some of the old proofs regarding tekhelet and the identification of the murex.

But it wasn't.

The conference was in part a commemoration of Rav Herzog, and a lot about tekhelet - the history, the discovery, plans for moving forward, and a lot of halachic and hashkafic discussion based on the tekhelet, even if not directly connected. Topics such as renewal in halacha, issues of torah and science, and the meaning of tekhelet, among others.

MK Yitzchak Herzog spoke, relating and explaining that tekhelet was not just a scientific enterprise or interest of his grandfather, but was completely part of his belief in the renewal of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael and it was an integral part of his Zionism. The study of the tekhelet and bringing it back to the Jewish people was part of the growth and advancement of the Jewish people and its return to the land.

There were plenty of speakers. The strangest was, perhaps, on a panel of archaeologists and scientists of different sorts, one person was a linguist who studied ancient languages and he discussed and explained the history of the word "tekhelet" and where it appears in ancient languages such as in Mesopotamian and its meaning. I was amazed that someone would turn that into a study.

I am personally a big fan of Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and read his articles religiously in the Torah Tidbits. It was a pleasure to be able to meet him and to hear him speak. Rabbi Weinreb offered an analysis of the resistance to tekhelet. He said something very interesting, saying that just like people repress bad, they also repress the sublime.

We heard from Dr. Zaidman, who has another tekhelet research organization. He described some of the work and what is happening moving forward - plans for growing tekhelet in large amounts in pools, and other ideas. Other great speakers on different topics included Rav Avraham Steinberg, Supreme Court Justice Neal Hendel, there was a panel dealing with issues of how to deal with rabbonim when talking about new innovations in halacha - discussed by Rabbi Riskin, Rabbi Burshtein of Machon Puah and Rabbi Vitman... among others.

The event was capped off by Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveitchik who discussed the ideas of the blue with the white and what they represent, both are needed in our lives. The white represents the simple, what can be easily understood, while the tekhelet represents the mysterious and the outer limit of human understanding..

During the day we also heard from Dr. Baruch Sterman and Dr. Ari Greenspan, as well as from others associated with the Ptil Tekhelet organization.

It is really amazing that there is so much research, thought and investment into tekhelet....

We call the entire Har Habayit "Al Aksa". The place is holy to Muslims all over the world. This includes the entire plaza - all 144 dunam - and not just the building itself. Every centimeter of the ocmplex is holy with the holiness of Al Aksa.Q: You did not hear that the Jews have prayed for two thousand years to return and rebuild the Temple?A: We respect the holy places of all religions, but Al Aksa is holy only to Muslims - not Jews or anyone else. Also great rabbis of the jews say the real place of the Kotel is not known. According to what I have read, the rabbis are waiting for Mashiach to show them where the Kotel is.Q: The Kotel or the Mikdash?A: The Kotel. This is what I have heard. It is somewhere else. Not by Al Aksa.Q: The entire area, Har Habayit, is traditionally called in Islam "Haram A-Sharif". When did the entire area become Al Aksa?A: With all due respect to other names, this is what it is called in the Koran.Q:But we dont know where Al Aksa is. In the Koran it does not say that it is in Jerusalem or even in the Land of Israel?A: Who told you this? This is a lie. They are trying to confuse you. Al Aksa is in Jerusalem, on the area of 144 dunam. All attempts by Jews or Christians to change that are baseless.Q: What should be done for Jews who want to pray on Har Habayit?A: There is no place to pray there. We spoke about it in the Vaadat Hapnim. Someone who even just requests to daven there is just looking for provocations, is bringing the entire region to instability.Q: in a democratic country you can tell someone not to pray?A: I am in favor of everyone praying in the places holy to them. But this place is holy only to Muslims.Q: So where is the holy place for the Jews?A: I dont know. Ask them. Why are you asking me?

So, he respects everyone's holy place, and the Jews determine their own holy places, but when they say what those holy places are, he doesnt respect that...

It seems clear that he is mixing up the Kotel and the place of the Kodesh Kadashim. Many rabbis opposed to Jews going up to Har Habayit say it is because of uncertainty of the exact location of the Holy of Holies. But he rejects that and insists it is the true location of the Kotel that is unknown.

When they ask for directions, " excuse me, where is the Kotel?", the answer should really be, "I dont know".

Dec 30, 2013

There has been some talk, since the court decision to hold new elections in Bet Shemesh, about what the extremist community will do in the upcoming elections. Will they go against their ideology and vote, as a one-time event, out of necessity to influence the election in favor of the haredim, or will they keep to their ideology and refuse to vote, even at risk of 'losing' the city?

I've heard arguments both ways.

Personally I have no interest in putting forth a guess on the matter.

I do want to comment that the entire question, or discussion, is premised on a faulty assumption. It indicates either a falsehood in the ideology or a loan of understanding.

If the ideology would be put aside, for one election only, out of need, if would prove that their is really no ideology being the behavior. It would show that they normally don't vote just because their vote is not important enough to make it worthwhile. As soon as their vote suddenly becomes more necessary the ideology goes out the window? . That's not ideology-that's convenience.

I believe they really do not vote out of ideological reasons, as much as I disagree with those reasons. I think giving that up now would be a tremendous disappointment. And worse, it would be a failure of their entire being and lifestyle. And I think even suggesting that they mint do so indicates a lack of understanding of who they are.

Not only that, but they are in essence as opposed to the haredi community as to the non-haredi. The satmar rebbe just said, regarding the coming law about drafting yeshiva students, that the haredim are at fault for this because they think they can participate in society and benefit from it without sharing in the responsibility. He stressed that they are opposed to the haredi community that takes part in the government as they are opposed to other zionists. Their, taking him at his word, which may or may not be a good thing, it's silly to assume they would find importance in helping the haredi community that they are just as much opposed to.

One more point....

In an editorial on Kikar Shabbat website, Yerucham Estraicher lays out these arguments explaining why it is important that this time they vote. Estraicher lays out the issues well. He touches on an issue I have avoided writing about, and will continue to avoid, for now. Estraicher makes one additional argument on which I would like to comment. In saying why it is crucial for the extremists to vote this time, he says this election requires their vote
in order to set the character or nature of the city.

Considering that these are the people, in large part, who have harmed the local haredi community the most, due to their extremism, Estraicher and other haredim should not want their assistance in seeing the character of the city. I definitely don't want them being involve in establishing the city's character. I much prefer them as a small insignificant insular community, if at all, than as an influential in setting the character of the cit. And the haredim hurt most by them x should also not want their influence. Late they will regret asking for it...

According to a survey published yesterday in the Yediot Acharonot newspaper, 93% of Israeli households have a Tanach.

Unfortunately, about a third of that number, 28% to be precise, don't remember the last time they opened it. On the other hand, that stat also means that 72% do read or learn from their Tanach which is more encouraging.

Jokingly I would say that it could even be very likely that a large percentage of those who do not remember the last time they opened their Tanach are families of avreichim and yeshiva bochurim who famously learn very little Tanach, if any at all (beyond grade school). It would just be a joke, though the survey did reveal that 10% of the religious and haredi people surveyed did admit that they don't use their Tanach all that much.

96% surveyed say they support the study of Tanach in school.

In response to the question of which biblical character is their favorite:
- Moshe pulled in 24%
- King David ranked a distant second place with a 9% fan base
- Avraham came in 3rd place with 6%
- King Solomon was next at 5%
- Yosef at 3%
- Rachel Imeinu at 3%
(source: Kikar)

I probably would have picked Yosef as my favorite, had I been asked. Maybe somebody a bit more obscure, like Yaihu the Prohet who I always envision as a bit of a swashbuckler. Another possibility would have been Gideon, who I see as a salt of the earth type of hard-nosed guy...

MK Miri Regev (Likud Beyteynu) proposed a law that would have Israel annex the Jordan Valley and take complete authority over it.

The Ministerial Legislative Committee voted 8 - 3 in favor of the annexation. 4 ministers have said they will appeal the vote - Tzippi Livni, Yair Lapid, Yael German and Yaakov Peri. The appeal sends the vote under the authority of PM Netanyahu , which basically kills the bill, as Netanyahu is expected to not allow it to be voted on again.

This proposal has generated a lot of anger... all those against it are saying that this bill would kill the peace process, it harms Israel's ability to negotiate, it makes Israel look bad and irresponsible, etc. On the other hand, it is being treated as a symbolic showing of support for the Jordan Valley - the towns there and their residents.

The best was Livni saying she has no respect for the bill or for the person who promoted it (Miri Regev). Regev, no slouch or pushover herself, thanked the ministers that helped pass her bill "despite Livni acting like a crybaby"... As always, the Knesset provides the best show in town..

A local rabbi is being sued after allegedly botching a bris, the traditional Jewish circumcision ritual, and severing a newborn boy’s penis.The incident detailed in the lawsuit happened at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill within the last year.The Jewish circumcision ceremony was performed by Pittsburgh Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg – who is also a mohel.Sometime during the bris, according to the lawsuit, Rosenberg severed the baby boy’s penis.The baby was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where doctors performed emergency microsurgery.“If your finger, your thumb was cut off and was put back on, that is pretty exciting,” said renowned UPMC plastic surgeon Dr. Joe Losee.Dr. Losee was not involved in the boy’s treatment and he can’t talk specifics.But our sources say it took eight hours. The baby needed six blood transfusions and was hospitalized for nearly two months. Sources describe the reattachment procedure as successful.Dr. Losee says microsurgery advances every day, but it’s risky.“Sometimes, it doesn’t always work,” he says. “When you’re reattaching a portion where you include nerves, sometimes the nerves don’t heal well beyond where you reattached it. So there are limitations for sure.”On his website, Rabbi Rosenberg says he is recognized as a “certified mohel by the American Board of Ritual Circumcision.” His site also says “a doctor’s medical circumcision, usually performed in the hospital, is not considered valid according to Jewish law.”“That is extraordinarily serious and is extraordinarily rare,” said attorney David Llewellyn.Llewellyn handles cases involving injury during circumcision – injury brought on by both doctors in the hospital and mohels in religious ceremonies.“Your average pediatric urologist probably spends about 20 percent of his or her time repairing children who have been circumcised,” Llewellyn says.According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, one in every 500 newborn boys experience significant acute complications as a result of circumcision.“This is pretty much unregulated,” Llewellyn said.He says there is no regulated standard for training or certification of mohels, or any place for reporting injuries from circumcision.“There’s virtually no regulation of this any place in the United States that I know of,” Llewellyn said. “I think the government probably should require some sort of training if this is going to be done.”Rabbi Rosenberg told KDKA “I am trained in this.” He also called the case a “tragic accident” and a “horrible situation.” But also said he continues to perform circumcisions.Sources close to the case say, while the baby is recovering, there’s no way to know if he’ll make a complete recovery. The incident happened about eight months ago.

I do not see why it would be a problem to regulate mohels, with certification, exams, training, etc. As far as I know, in Israel there is regulation and mohels must take a test, take an exam, become certified, in order to practice. I don't know how strictly it is regulated, but it is regulated. But even with the tightest regulation, the best training, accidents can and will still happen, mistakes can and will be made, and some tragedies will occur. The regulation and training would hopefully minimize all that, but there is no perfect solution.

Dec 29, 2013

There is a debate going on in Bet Shemesh after an upsetting article blaming the haredim for not having enough ambulances in Bet Shemesh.

The problem is that by law, or by instruction from the Ministry of Health, an ambulance has to take any woman picked up to give birth to whatever hospital she wants to go to. Anywhere in the country.

That means, the ambulances are being used as a taxi service, which is common enough, to get people to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, or Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Braq or elsewhere. This takes the ambulance out of Bet Shemesh for a significant amount of hours - the ambulance has to drive there, get the woman in and take care of whatever procedural things they need to do, and then drive back. All this time, the ambulance is not available for emergencies in Bet Shemesh.

A local paper, one with a bad attitude to Haredim in general, is blaming haredim for the shortage of ambulances - the haredi women use the ambulances as a free ride to Netanya or Bnei Braq instead of going to give birth in Jerusalem (which is where logically Bet Shemesh ambulances should be directed to).

The problem is not with the Haredim. They are doing nothing wrong. It is not their fault Bet Shemesh does not have enough ambulances, nor must they not not go to Netanya, if that is what MDA and the Health Ministry allows.

The real problem is that it is allowed in general.

Maybe Bet Shemesh needs more ambulances. If they can get more, great. Not happening in any significant way any time soon.

Maybe Bet Shemesh needs to have a hospital or birthing center built somewhere in the region. If that will happen, great, but I don't think it will solve the problem. Many women will still want to go to the hospitals of their choice around the country for a variety of reasons. Also, this is not going to happen so quickly.

The real solution is for MDA to stop allowing the use of the ambulance as a taxi service. Ambulances should be kept within regions. Ambulances from Bet Shemesh should not be allowed, except in case of emergency or with a special order from the Health Minister or head of MDA perhaps, to go any further than the hospitals in Jerusalem. Ambulances in other regions should be allowed to only travel to hospitals within their region.

If a woman wants to go to Netanya, she has that right to, but she should have to find her own way there, such as her own car, a taxi or whatever, or bite the bullet and go to a closer hospital.

It is not the fault of the haredim. It is the fault of a bad rule in MDA and in the Health Ministry that allows it. They should recognize that cities and regional councils have limited resources and cannot afford to have their ambulances offline for such long periods of time.

According to a law proposed by MK Orli Levy Abuksis (Likud Beyteynu) and MK Penina Tamno-Shata (Yesh Atid), Internet Service Providers would be obligated to offer, free of charge, filtering of any harmful content - porn, violence, etc.

The proposal was actually toned down from its original format. Originally the proposal was to require ISPs to set the filtering automatically, and it would be incumbent upon the customer to explicitly say that he wants no filtering. After complaints regarding issues of freedom of information and privacy, it was changed to the current format in which the ISP will have to tell customers about the option, but filtering will not be the automatic default. The ISPs will also be obligated to advertise the availability of the option of filtering.

The law was submitted and passed its initial reading last week.
(source: Ynet)

I don't think this will put the filtering companies out of business, nor will it satisfy those behind bans of the Internet, filtered or unfiltered. They will say the concerns of secular people running filtering systems are not going to be the same concerns of religious and/or haredi people requiring filtering. Any filtering down by a secular company for secular people, will still allow content that is inappropriate for haredi or religious people. I don't think we will see, even if this law passes, the end of Internet Rimon or the end of the Haredi internet ban any time in the near future. At least not because of this.

The past 5 years there has been an annual conference in Jerusalem called The President's Conference. President Shimon Peres was behind it. The conference took place in the International Convention Center, Binyanei HaUma, and it was an elegant and prestigious affair. World leaders from all walks of life flew to Israel to be a part of it. Leading politicians, businessmen, doctors, economists, environmentalists, social entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, religious leaders, academics, entertainers, and on and on (and even Dr. Ruth Westheimer!). They would come and talk about what needs to be done, what is being done, what Israel is doing, how Israel is a leader in this or that.

A lot of pomp and circumstance.

The past couple of years saw the conference come under a lot of criticism. Some were upset that one could not find an Israeli flag anywhere near the conference. Others were upset with the high cost of the event. Even though it was funded by private donations and was not coming from the taxpayers pockets, many people thought it inappropriate to have such an expensive event at a time when so many Israelis are having a hard time making it to the end of the month.

Personally, I felt that even if it was a bit "over the top" it was still worth it. it brought great PR to Israel on the world stage, it brought world leaders to Israel, it had world leaders talking nicely about Israel, and I am sure many of the workshops probably spurred ideas for innovation and/or improvement in various fields. Maybe certain things could have been changed, I don't know, but overall I think it was a positive event that was worth having, especially as it came at no cost to the taxpayer.

Unfortunately, the President's Conference is no more.

Walla News is reporting, and one of the organizers confirmed it for me, that there will be no President's Conference this year, and probably not at all in the future.

There were actually two problems with the upcoming President's Conference:
1. it has been held annually in June, and this years conference would have been very close to the time in which Shimon Peres would finish his term as president and a new president would be stepping in.
2. The cost, and according to Walla the criticism as a result of the cost.

It is a shame that the conference is being canceled. It could have been scaled down a bit, the schedule changed - the issues do not seem so major that they could not be overcome.

Sometimes I kind of feel bad for Aryeh Deri. He is probably somewhat misunderstood. Maybe he has repented, at least in part, for his crimes. He has served his time. He spent so many years out of politics, it seems almost unreasonable to just assume that he is the same guy with the same positions as he was in the early 90s. Even though he seems to be a master schemer, at the end of the day he did what Rav Ovadaya decided.. Why does he deserve such a bad rap?

Here is a good example. In one paper Deri is blamed for Abutbol's failure - he did not work hard enough for Abutbol, Abutbol was Eli Yishai's man, etc. In another paper they are blaming Deri for taking credit for Abutbol's win and saying they will appeal the court decision and asking where were you during the elections when you gave him almost no assistance. And in other media he actually gets credit for being behind Abutbol's [original] victory.

I don't know which of those scenarios is more accurate than the others, but I kind of feel bad for him that no matter what happens he gets the blame. I guess it comes with being head of a party that is right now in a bad place, but still he either gets blamed or gets credit taken away.

And then other things happen that make me think he probably deserves every ounce of strife they give him in Shas. Stories like the revelation this past week of how Deri fired a senior Shas employee so that Deri could give his own son that guy's job (source: Mako news). It is stories like this that remind me of why he gets his bad rap, and why he deserves it. He treats Shas like it is his family business.

On a journey in the Middle East, brothers Robert and Adam Kolodny explored the diverse adventure that is the State of Israel. They went with a group then later went off backpacking, staying with friends they met along the journey and at hostels. This is the document of what was observed on this journey through one of the most complex, misunderstood, important and beautiful places in the world.

Dec 27, 2013

from Youtube:The Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda and Israeli artist Irene Orleansky partnered to create "Shalom, Mirembe!" as part of a music collection from Israelites and Jews of Africa and Asia. For more information and to purchase the CD visit www.ireneorleansky.com The participating Jewish communities receive all proceeds from CD sales.

I have heard both Eli Cohen and Benny Rabinovitz (a haredi spokesman recently appointed as spokesman of Rav Shteinman) speak a lot recently on different radio shows.. Everything they say here, I have heard them say time and again in other interviews.

I sort of like this Rabinovitz fellow.He frames the issue here in an interesting way.. my two comments are:
1. I am impressed that he throws criticism at the haredi community, saying that they should stop acting like everything is elections of the shtieble.. even though it won't help (as far as becoming liked by the establishment)
2. he tries to minimize the seriousness. even while admitting there was illegal activity, he plays it down by saying it was not really forgery. forgery is only when a ballot box has 250 voters registered on it but pulls in 300 votes - not when it has the right number of votes but the wrong people were the ones who voted, and its not so bad to let someone else vote for you, though it is illegal....

Dec 26, 2013

Like it or not, new elections are upon us in Bet Shemesh. At least until an appeal to the Supreme Court is filed and decided upon.

Thinking about it briefly, it seems God has given us a do-over. The perfect opportunity for teshuva - get put into the same situation and the second time around act better, more appropriately - don't commit the same sin the second time.

Whatever your sin, if you sinned, might have been the first time around, whether it was talking badly about the other candidate, talking badly about his supporters, talking badly about other parties or their supporters, whether it was physical activities - tearing down signs defacing signs, or whatnot.. .We all have the opportunity to do this again in a better, more civil way. We should all, myself included, look at our behavior and figure out how do do it better this time, how to support our preferred candidate without getting nasty and being mean, without being hateful and spiteful. Support whichever candidate you want, but please let's not go through another mean-spirited campaign again like we had last time..

We have the chance for a do-over. Let's do it over properly. Let's elect a mayor peacefully this time.

Joseph Kaufman, the company that make fleece jackets, is running a contest on its Facebook page. They will give fleece jackets to an army unit, depending on which units photograph gets the most "Likes".

There are 11 units competing, and while I am sure they are all deserving and they all could make good use of the jackets, I am going to support the Nahal Haredi unit competing for the jackets.

We know that MK Swaid had petitioned the Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, to have a Christmas tree placed in the Knesset, in order to commemorate the holiday with the Christian citizens and MKs (only one, Swaid himself).

We now know that in fact no Christmas tree was placed in the Knesset for Christmas. And now Yuli Edelstein has explained why not.

Edelstein today explained that the symbol of the Christmas tree would evoke bitter memories for many Jews. There are other ways to wish local Christians a happy holiday. Furthermore, Edelstein said, the Arab MKs are regularly trying to push the envelope and see the limits of how they can change the status of the Jewishness of the State of Israel. Edelstein said that if he would allow the Christmas tree, the next day another request would come in to place a cross and a moon next to the Knesset menorah.

So:
1. Christian symbolism would be hurtful to many Jews
2. the Arab MKs are using this is a red herring to harm the Jewish character of the State.

Yuli Edelstein is a good and smart man.

Hey - maybe the Arab parties (or any that do work to undermine the jewishness of the state) should be banned under the new law, if it will be passed, to ban organizations that undermine the Jewish character of the state...

Just a couple of weeks ago the Knesset started the passage of a law that would grant the government the ability to heavily tax (45%) any donations from foreign governments to NGOs.. this law is an attempt to put an end to the foreign influence being exerted on Israel through local proxies. I don't think it will change much, as they will now just pay the taxes. I don't see them stopping to donate just because the government will be taking some of that money. I would suggest that all monies collected from these taxes be designated for projects in the areas of Judea and Samaria.

It seems now that that law was just the initial round.. MK Miri Regev (Likud Beyteynu) yesterday proposed a new law, that makes the previous one look like child's play. In Regev's new law, no organization seeking to harm the Jewish character of the State will be able to be registered. The law currently states that an organization can be rejected if it works to damage the democratic nature of the State - the new law says any organization that harms the Jewish nature of the State.

This would effect any organization trying to promote ideas such as one state for two peoples, or any other plan that detracts from Israel's Jewish nature.

Regev said that this law will put an end the extreme left-wing and anarchist organizations trying to take advantage of the democratic nature of the State in order to undermine the Jewish and Zionistic nature of the State.
(source: NRG)

Bechadrei points out that this law would also ban organizations that work towards the dissolution of the Jewish State and desire to replace it with a non-Jewish government. i.e. this would ban an organization like the Neturei Karta.

Yesterday the Knesset voted on and will be releasing a statement calling on US President Barak Obama to release Jonathan Pollard.

The call for Pollard's release was practically unanimous, even though only 106 Knesset members voted in favor.

There are actually two letter being sent to Obama, as the Arab MKs are releasing their own statement. They too support, and call on President Obama to release Pollard, but they wanted to say things in their own way.

The decision from the Knesset reads, "The Israeli Knesset is turning to the US President Barack Obama to request, on humanitarian and humanistic grounds, in light of his grave medical condition, to limit the sentence of Jonathan Pollard and order his immediate release. This humanitarian gesture is essential, and even necessary for Israel-US relations at this time."

The Arab MKs also are calling on Obama to release Pollard, but they don't want it connected in any way as a condition for the releasing of senior Palestinian terrorists (pre-Oslo) from Israeli jails.

Dec 25, 2013

Mahmoud Abbas recently said that Jesus was a Palestinian. He raised a lot of anger and argument with that statement.

Over the past few days you could have seen article after article online arguing that Abbas is distorting facts, changing history, Jesus was a Jew, etc.

Personally, I see nothing to argue about. if the Palestinians want Jesus so badly, they can have him.

Nothing good happened to the Jewish people, over 2000 years of history, because of our association with Jesus. If the Palestinians think he will do them better, go for it. Jesus is all yours, Abbas. Keep him far away from us.

I made a mistake the other day. I thought the court's final deadline for announcing a decision in the Bet Shemesh electoral fraud case was going to be December 24, yesterday. It seems that either the real date was December 27, or else it was the 24th and they got a 2 day extension (which is what I heard, but I dont know who gives out these extensions, so it might be wrong or inaccurate).

Anyways, the rumor mills are churning. I did not post any of the rumors until now, but the latest rumor has been reported now on a Haredi news station called Chadashot 24, so I will share it with you. But don't get excited or disappointed, no decision is final until the court announces it, and anythign you hear until then is only a rumor.

The rumor reported says, "Community activist Rav Moshe Berg, activist in Bet Shemesh and confidante of Mayor Moshe Abutbol, in an interview to Chadashot 24: From information that has been leaked in the past few hours, the decision is for new elections in Bet Shemesh, so claims one of the court stenographers. We are preparing for new elections. The official announcement will come tomorrow afternoon."

Again, it is just a rumor, and nobody should bank on it just yet...

And, once we are dealing in rumors, something I usually try to avoid, I might as well mention that this strengthens the rumor that was spread last night. That rumor said that Justice Cheshin has decided for new elections in Bet Shemesh. Without having stated his reasons, those close to him think the decision is based on the moral principles rather than the level of evidence presented. It also said that this decision, which is a precedent, could effect the disputed elections in other cities as well, such as Netivot and Nazareth.

As well, Haredi ournalist Yaakov Rivlin tweeted a few hours ago that information leaking from the court has it that the decision will be announced tomorrow at 12:30pm and the prosecutors office says their information has it that the decision is for new elections.

A different source says the decision will be announced at 2pm tomorrow)

Again, just a rumor at this point. Don't take it to the bank just yet.

an interesting law proposal was submitted recently. It's goal is to make it easier for religious and non-religious Jews to live together in the same apartment building.

In 2011, a law was passed that said if a certain majority of residents in an apartment building vote in favr of having a shabbos elevator, the building would have to install one. This replaced the original law that required unanimous agreement in the building - if even one person did not agree, the elevator could not be forced.

The new law proposal would amend that even further and state what hours of the day shabbos elevators need to run. The law would now say, the shabbos elevator must be operated on Friday for 3 hours from the beginning of Shabbos, and on Saturday from 7am until 12pm and again from 3 hours before the end of Shabbos until the end of shabbos. And, if a majority of residents want, they can vote to extend those hours of operation beyond this minimum.

As it is stated in the proposal (rtf document), the purpose of this is to allow everyone the right to choose where to live, and to make it easier for religious people to live in buildings of non-religious people, usually buildings that are many stories high. Despite the previous law, many buildings have refused to operate the shabbos elevators even after installing them, thus rendering the original amendment useless. This new amendment would allow religious people their right to choose where to live.

According to Kikar, the proposal has secular opposition. They complain that the MKs are writing laws to make it easier for religious Jews while hurting the quality of life of those who believe less. They say this law is written so that if your neighborhood happens to be one that is being taken over, now the religious people will also be able to buy apartments in the top floors of very tall buildings. The haredim that will come to your neighborhood will take over, and will happily buy the top floor apartments at discounted prices, as the secular will no longer buy there.

They add, an elevator is not a major thing, and one can be considerate of the religious people. However, what about being considerate of the elderly, the young couples, the secular, the people who are in a hurry [and dont want to spend a few minutes in the elevator] (though I did not know "the people who are in a hurry" is a sector of society with rights of their own).

Little do they know, most haredim do not use shabbos elevators, so this should not be much of a problem. It would hurt non-haredi religious people, and possibly a certain percentage of haredi people, but overall the haredi community in Israel does not generally use shabbos elevators.

Hanesbrands Inc,. is suing a little Canadian hummus maker for using the name "Hanes" - Hanes Hummus.

Hanesbrands has not commented publicly on the matter, but Petros, maker of the hummus, has extensively. They say that there is no confusion between hummus and underwear, and Hanesbrands is not in the food business, so this is not a trademark violation. As well, the logos do not look the same.

The Canadian hummus maker behind Hanes Hummus says he refuses to shut down his small business after Hanesbrands Inc., the underwear manufacturer, threatened to sue for trademark violation and demanded that he destroy his products.

The difference between underwear and hummus may be as vast as the distance between Hanesbrands' headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the food business that Yohannes Petros built in the city of Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, Canada, five years ago.But earlier this month, the gulf was closed, just like the plastic container sealing his hummus products when Petros received a two-page letter from Hanes' legal department.The letter said Hanesbrands Inc. objects to Petros' use of the mark Hanes Hummus in his application to register the name in the U.S. and Canada. The company required a response by Dec. 16 in its request to "cease and desist from all use of the mark Hanes Hummus" and withdraw its pending trademark applications."I was shocked," Petros, 38, told ABCNews.com, explaining that the name of his company came from his nickname, Hanes, which is short for Yohannes. "Our logos don't look the same, the spelling and font are different."In response, Petros' attorney, Nathan Dooley, wrote a three-page letter to Hanesbrands with 36 pages of supporting case law saying he disagrees with Hanesbrands' conclusion that consumers will confuse the hummus maker with the apparel brand."I was not aware that HBI [Hanesbrands Inc.] was in the business of manufacturing and selling hummus. In fact, I am confident that HBI is not in the food production business at all, let alone the production of fine and tasty hummus of the type manufactured and sold by Hanes Hummus," Dooley writes."I was not aware that HBI's T-shirts were edible, made with chick peas, lemon or garlic," Dooley adds.Hanesbrands did not respond to a request for comment, and the company has seemingly remained silent to other media outlets. Petros and Dooley have not yet heard a response from the company.Dooley holds back no punches, writing to Hanes, "It is safe to assume that you have done no research whatsoever" and "If you had done that research, you would not have sent the letter because, in reality, no rational person who is familiar with Hanes Hummus could possibly allege any confusion between Hanes Hummus and HBI's Mark or HBI's product."Petros said he hopes Hanesbrands chooses to pick a fight with someone else. And in the meantime, he said at least one major potential distributor has delayed its business with Petros because of the threat by Hanesbrands."I can't compete with them financially. They have thousands of staff, I have four," he said of Hanesbrands Inc.Kevin Smith, an attorney with Sughrue Mion in Washington, D.C., who is not involved in this case, said surnames like Hanes can be protected only after they acquire distinctiveness as a source identifier of a product or service."There is no doubt Hanes has acquired secondary meaning for apparel, but extending that to food products would be, in my opinion, very hard to prove," Smith, who specializes in intellectual property, said."If I wanted to pick a side in this dispute, based solely on the merits, I'm siding with Mr. Petros. However, as we all know, sometimes the 'economic theory of law' comes into play, and when that happens, it seems that deeper pockets usually prevail," Smith said.

From the Youtube description:Watch Ambassador Danny Ayalon as he rebuttals to "The real Truth about Palestine" "Palestine was the Greco-Roman name for a region. In the year 135 AC, the name of the region became the official name of one of the provinces of the Roman Empire in an attempt to obliterate the connection between the Jewish people and Judea - the land they've inhabited for over 1000 years. However, like Antarctica, the Amazons or the Sahara, naming a place doesn't create a nation of Antarcticans or Saharans.Oh, and for the record, Jesus was not a Palestinian, he was a Judean Jew."

Dec 24, 2013

4+ years ago I brought you a fascinating story publicized in Ladaat about how Rav Chaim Kanievsky had served in the IDF when he was younger, during the War of Independence. The story was revealed when Rav Chaim Kanievsky paid a shiva call to the Grossbard family upon the death of Rav Shmuel Grossbard, a mashgiach at Ponevezshe Yeshiva.

It is so fascinating, I will post it here again in the original format as I posted it then:

Rav Shmuel Grossbard, father of one of the mashgichim in Ponevvezh Yeshiva, passed away this week. His children were surprised when Rav Chaim Kanievsky came in to be menachem aveilim, and were even more surprised with what he told them shortly after he arrived."You have no idea why I troubled myself to come console you?" Rav Kanievsky asked.. "I have hakarat hatov for your father who was my commander in the army and helped me a lot!"Those present were surprised by what he said that he had served in the army. One of those present had the courage to ask "The Rav was in the army? We never heard this before about our father, and about the Rav even more so!"Rav Kanievsky smiled and related to them, "It was during the War of Independence, I was then learning in the Yeshiva of Lomza in Petach Tikva. The war started and everyone was drafted to the army with no exceptions. Of course, we knew nothing, until one day a large vehicle pulled up outside the yeshiva and they said everybody has to get in to go protect the country.Because none of us knew how to hold a gun,they gave us sticks and stones and put us out to guard a large hill. I remember everyone was very scared and Rav Berel Povarsky hid in a bathroom and got out of it. But me and Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, we went, and he was sitting beside me the whole time saying tehillim while crying.Your father, z"l, was appointed as commander, because he was the oldest in the group. because he was commander, he got the largest stick. When we got there, I asked him what we should do. he told me you should go up the hill and sit and learn where they can't see you, but take a stick and two stones so if the Arabs would come you can scare them away. We sat there for a long time, and after we left the place we were told the Arabs had shot to that same place."When he finished relating this story he said, "Out of gratitude for then, I have come to console you."

Eventually, the source for the story disappeared. Ladaat, the source as I linked to it in my post, had a website registration problem and eventually had to change their url. The old URL no longer worked, and I was not able to find the story in the archives of the new Ladaat website.

The story has now resurfaced. This time on the Srugim website. The story as told now is told pretty much the same as it was back then, with some minor details changed or not mentioned. The difference is that the reporter now uses the story as an attack on the Haredi community, suggesting that while Rav Kanievsky chose to fulfill his obligation to society, the haredi community today decides to follow the way of Rav Povarsky, who his in the bathroom out of fear, under the guise of ideology and worldview.

One tango show knocked Nir Eliyahu's life off its course. About a decade ago, Eliyahu, a young religious man from Jerusalem, ended his role as a deputy company commander in the Duvdevan elite special forces unit. He went on vacation in South America and planned to start a company commanders' course upon his return."In Buenos Aires I saw a tango performance, and that's where my mouth opened and failed to close – it was amazing, and I decided that I wanted to bring that into my life," he says.Upon his return to Israel, Eliyahu decided to give up on his military career and registered for the Eli Mizrahi Ballroom Dance School. Mizrahi took notice of the young religious man's talent and enthusiasm, and suggested that he specialize in the field.

At the same time, Eliyahu received a job offer at the Defense Ministry but shoes the first option, surprising his acquaintances.

"Even today, when I tell people what I do for a living, they usually raise an eyebrow in wonder – how can a religious guy be a dancing teacher?" he says.Since then, Eliyahu and his wife Meital have become the owners of the Jerusalem branch of the Eli Mizrahi Ballroom Dance Schools, and he is one of the only teachers in Israel who can get members of the conservative faction of his sector to dance.

"More and more religious couples are coming here, because they want to spend time together," he says. According to Eliyahu, about 40% of the couples dancing in the studio are religious, and the teachers adapt to the restrictions of Halacha.In order to create a modest environment, the teachers in the studio adhere to a strict dress code: The men wear suits and ties and the teachers avoid wearing vests."Dancing can be linked with immorality, and it's important for us that the studio is respectable, and perhaps that's the reason why religious people feel comfortable in it. In addition, due to the ritual purification laws, on weeks when couples can't dance together they arrive separately for men-only or women-only classes."One of the religious couples dancing at the studio are Hagai and his wife, who prefer not to reveal their full names. They have been married for 11 years and have four children, but only recently took the courage and decided to try out dances for couples.

The desire to dance was his, and he did not immediately succeed in convincing his wife to join him."As a religious guy I was very embarrassed, but because I have been in the acting field for years, and my body is an instrument for me – it was easier for me than for my wife," he says.

"Ballroom dancing is not something innocent, it's dealing with one's body, and I just informed my wife that we were going – because if not with her, who would I dance with?"Hagai, 39, first became familiar with the world of dancing as part of acting classes at a religious theater called Aspaklaria."I learned dancing only with boys, and it was a bit ridiculous," he says. "The religious society has an unresolved issue with the body. Even when I studied acting, the secular teachers used to tell us that we're like news anchors: Everything below the chest doesn't exist for us."Hagai and his wife don't dance with other couples, but only with each other. "There are parties in the studio in which many couples dance together. It's not suitable for us," says Hagai.Another obstacle faced by religious couples who dance every week is the days of Niddah, when a woman goes through menstruation. "We have days when we are forbidden, and it's very embarrassing explaining it. But because the teacher is religious, he doesn't ask unnecessary questions."According to Hagai, despite the limitations imposed by religion, he insisted on learning ballroom dancing because of the work accompanying it. "In ballroom dancing there is an issue of listening and accuracy. The work in the studio is basically on a relationship. It's an opportunity in daily life to look each other in the eyes."Liat and Roee, who became religious together and define themselves as haredim, dance in the Nir Eliyahu studio as well. According to Liat, they have both always loved to dance, but since drawing closer to religion the number of opportunities has decreased.

When they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, Liat looked for a unique way to mark the occasion. They arrived at Nir and Meital's studio after a long search."I called a lot of places in Jerusalem and inquired whether there was a possibility to come in for a personal course, because we can't dance with other men and women. When Meital answered the phone, she immediately understood what I was looking for," says Liat.Since then, Liat and Roee have been taking classes with a private teacher, in order to avoid a situation in which Liat dances in front of a man who is not her husband. She says that the fact the teacher also avoided dancing and dressed modestly made the couple feel comfortable. Although they didn't take part in the parties held in the studio, the training at home was as fun, they say."When we practiced the children would watch us, and then I would grab one child and Roee would grab another child, and we would all dance together."Despite the great enjoyment the two experience and despite being strict about Halacha rules, Liat and Roee prefer to remain anonymous. In the haredi society, Liat says, ballroom dancing is completely off limits. She clarifies, however, that they have received the rabbi's approval.

"We once went to our rabbi's lesson after a dancing class. When I told him where we had come from, he was really enthusiastic about it."Liat notes that during classed they mostly enjoy the fact that they are spending time together actively. "The dancing is like couples therapy," she says. "For example, you must understand that the man leads the dance, and it took me time to let go and let him lead. The teacher has been working with us on it a lot."

Eliyahu understands what Liat is talking about very well. "As opposed to other dancing styles, here if you're not attentive to your partner – it's worthless," he says.

"In order to dance together, the couple must learn to listen or lead. These are concepts you meet in any type of relationship in life – even between employee and employer.""We have slightly lost femininity and masculinity," adds Meital. "If I look at women today, they are very independent and leading and have an opinion. In dancing the man is the frame and the woman is the picture. In our studio, the woman learns to be a woman."Nir and Meital owe their relationship to dancing too. "Dancing created contact between us," says Meital. "We were both looking for someone religious but open to the world of dancing, who would agree to mixed dancing. That's why the connection between us was so right."

Meital, who studied for a first degree in dancing, criticizes the perception of the body in the sector she belongs to. "The religious society drives girls away from their body," she says. "Nir and I are religious, but the thought that leads us in life is that there must be a connection between body and soul.""The connection to the body and regaining control of it are a very big gift," Nir adds. "The dance floor simulates life. Many come to us when they realize that they have a problem finding a partner."In our generation the man is in a very complicated situation. He has to be tough, but also sensitive, and in addition the woman wants to face someone she can lean on. Through tango, for example, I help many men connect to their charisma, because you can't dance tango softly."Nir says that 10 years after choosing to devote himself to dancing, he has no regrets. "There were many people who raised an eyebrow over the path I took, but today I laugh at all of them."We have our own business, in which we also dance and also help people go through internal processes. I don't know if an accountant, who deals with money all day, is more religious than me. For me, dancing has a religious aspect because it contains tolerance and attentiveness and an ability to help others."

too bad they don't tell us who the rabbi is. There are plenty of rabbis who are also ok with Zumba, though others are not. Without knowing who it is, how do we compare the allowance with the upcoming forbidding of it by others?

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About Me

I am a regular Joe with a Yeshiva background. I learned in Telshe Yeshiva, Heichal HaTorah (R' Tzvi Kushelevsky), and a now defunct Halacha Kollel. I have semicha from R' Zalman Nechemia Goldberg and kaballa in Shechita from Dayan Schwartz of Kehillas HaYeraim (Chomas HaKashrus). I have a college degree in Finance from Touro College and am also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
My wife and I, with our 8 children, ben porat yosef (knayna hara), live in Eretz Yisrael.